Man Walks Into Long Beach City Hall, Sets Himself on Fire

LONG BEACH, California – A man set himself on fire inside City Hall and was in critical but stable condition at a hospital, police said.

Haouy Nguyen, 50, walked into the building lobby Thursday afternoon, approached an information desk and set himself ablaze, said police spokeswoman Nancy Pratt.

Pratt said she didn't know how he set the fire, but a security guard who tackled the man and extinguished the fire reported smelling gasoline.

Nguyen had burns to 20 percent of his body, Zapalski said. The security guard suffered minor burns to his hand, she said.

During the fire, a suspicious package was discovered and City Hall was evacuated. A bomb squad later determined the package was harmless. It wasn't known if the package was connected to the man. Zapalski did not know what was in the package.

Long Beach is a major port city about 20 miles south of Los Angeles.